The Japan tragedy and the photo industry

[Shutterbug]

I just got this email from Adorama camera concerning the status of electronics and photographic industry there.

http://www.adorama.com/ALC/News.aspx?alias=UPDATED-Japan-Photo-Industry-Affected-by-Earthquake-and-Tsunami&utm_source=ET&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=EmailALC030911

an excerpt:

Sony was hardest hit. Japan's biggest exporter of consumer electronics, and a growing player in the still photography world, was forced to stop operations at ten factories and two research centers due to quake-related damage and power outages caused by emergencies at nuclear power plants. 1,000 Sony employees reportedly took shelter on the second floor of a nearby chemical products factory.

The tsunami has also destroyed many freighter ships, some of which may have been preparing to ship photographic equipment to destinations around the world. This situation is currently being assessed by the companies, but it is likely there will be shortages of some gear as a result.

[Marlton Mom]

Thanks for posting this. I had been planning on purchasing a lens soon and your info made me realize that now is the time, while it was still in stock. I would have been crushed if I couldn't get this lens in time for my upcoming trip.

I wonder what the shortage will do to pricing?

Thanks again, you quite possibly saved my bacon! :thumbsup2

Marlton Mom

[Marlton Mom]

here is another article about this topic:

http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20110316PD225.html

Japan earthquake: Taiwan digital camera industry to see limited short-term impact

Erica Yen, Taipei; Joseph Tsai, DIGITIMES [Thursday 17 March 2011]

Taiwan-based digital camera makers Altek and Ability, in response to Japan's earthquake, pointed out that they have already confirmed with their Japan-based upstream CCD suppliers and are currently seeing no shortages in short-term supply; however, for the long term, the status may change as suppliers could see issues from their own upstream material suppliers, as well as problems with transportation and power.

Although Japan-based digital camera brands Panasonic, Canon and Nikon have all closed down their production lines and evacuated their employees in Japan, since most of the vendors' production lines in Japan are used for manufacturing high-end models, with consumer models being made at their plants in China and Thailand or outsourced to Taiwan-based makers, the earthquake is unlikely to have a significant impact on digital camera production for consumers, the two companies noted.

Ability currently has about 90% of its CCD components supplied by Sony with Altek having about 70-80% supplied by Sharp. Since Sharp's CCD plants in Japan are far from the worst-hit zones, while Sony's CCD plants are located in Thailand, CCD supply in the future should not face any issues.

Ability pointed out that components for internal digital camera chassis will not see any seriously supply issues since it is easy to find alternative supply sources for those components, but some key components such as flash capacitors and battery cells are still supplied mainly by Japan-based players, and so the company is currently still confirming with its upstream suppliers to ensure they will be able to provide smooth supply.

Since Japan is still waiting to restore transportation, communications and power supplies, the Taiwan-based digital camera makers are currently only able to confirm with their first-tier component suppliers about their damage status. Since the makers currently still have a safe level of inventory, they should not have any production issues for the next 1-2 months.

As for whether Japan-based brands will shift their orders, the makers pointed out that they have not yet received any notice from their clients.

[photo_chick]

I wouldn't be surprised to see all high demand electronics that are made in Japan going for more on the secondary market for a while. Cars as well since car manufacturers lost a lot of their ready stock that was waiting to ship out, in addition to any factory problems.

This has already affected the gaming industry with several anticipated titles that are now majorly delayed or cancelled altogether. No games means less money for American retailers. There are already stores being hurt from refunding pre-orders. I think this is going to affect the global economy for some time to come, in addition to the horrible environmental effects in Japan.

[seashoreCM]

I am led to believe that price increases due to limited supply of products will be temporary, unlike real inflation.